By Dan Harris

My friend Chris Carr, dean of the CalPoly MBA program and the brains behind the International Business Tour blog has a very thoughtful post, entitled, “Will Paying More Change Behavior And Make Someone More Ethical?” Thoughtful, but wrong.

The post centers on whether paying more gets you better performance and/or better ethics, and Chris pretty much says it does not:

“Some suggested that we could solve the problem of too many defective products coming from China by paying more to the Chinese suppliers that make this stuff. I questioned that assumption, and still do.

One example I gave in that discussion thread was that if paying people more solved the problem, then why does paying most good employees more still result in good performance, but not superior performance? (See Comment No. 29.) And why does paying most bad employees more money still get you bad performance, and not good performance? (If you feel that more money correlates to higher performance, come see me after you have hired, managed and fired more than a few people, and let’s compare notes.)”

Read the rest of “Why Paying More Is Good China Business” or post a comment

By Alexander de Neree

Besides the human tragedy, there has always been a certain irony in the fact that the communist system has never been able to achieve its main goal: to bring prosperity to the masses.

More specifically in China, there first where the farmers that did not particularly benefited from the revolution that was undertaken in their name. And now, much to Beijing’s chagrin one imagines, one scandal after another regarding the maltreatment of workers hits the international press circuit.

But, help is underway. Starting January 1, 2008, the new labour contract law will come in force in China. Surprisingly it has many characteristics of the Dutch system which will give rise to some alarm among employers familiar with the Dutch system. Read the rest of “Workers’ paradise” or post a comment

As UK companies seek to take advantage of China’s growing commercial prominence, recruiting and keeping employees is becoming more of an issue; particularly with the increase in forged CVs and Diplomas.

Stories in the press make fairly frightening reading. The China Daily did a test and discovered that out of 3,000 diplomas, 800 had been forged. It also revealed that a Harvard PhD can be bought for as little as $100.

Read the rest of “Caution is the key in Chinese recruitment” or post a comment >>

‘Will there or won’t there be?’ The small clump of young European & Asian salesmen breaks from their huddle and puts the question to me. They try to look relaxed, but clearly they’re concerned. The entire sales department has been watching the economies of the US and Europe losing momentum and asking themselves the same question:

Read the rest of “What would a US recession mean for China Sales HR?” or post a comment >>

The recent series of high-profile labor events has thrown a spotlight on the protection of workers’ rights in China.

Several foreign multinationals, including FoxConn, McDonald’s and Yum! Brands Inc - which owns the KFC brand, had been investigated for providing poor working conditions, underpaying their part-time workers and engaging in other unfair labor practices.

Read the rest of “Protect your Employees, Protect your Business - A Practical Guide to Labor Law Compliance in China” or post a comment >>